Since its inception in 1996, the human rights organization “Viasna 96”, and then the Human Rights Center Viasna
was consequently and ruthlessly persecuted by the Belarusian authorities.
All members of this organization were subject to detention, beatings, raids,
arrests and fines. A complete list of the facts of persecution would
take more than a dozen pages. However, most
often the lightning of the state anger fell on the highest point of the
organization, its head Ales Bialiatski.

In April 1996, the human rights organization “Viasna 96”was established.

On 23 February 1997 Viasna
was officially registered as the Minsk Human Rights Center “Viasna-96”.

In 1998, Viasna was liquidated by a decision of the
Justice Bureau of the Minsk City Executive Committee.

On 9 November 1998 the Partyzanski District Court of Minsk
issued a warning to the Chair of the Human
Rights Center
“Viasna-96”, Aliaksandr Bialiatski, for attending an
action of the Free Trade Union as an observer on 5 November.

On 15 June 1999 the Public
Association Human
Rights Center
“Viasna”
was registered.

On 4 October 4 1999 officers of the Tsentralny District
Police Department and people in civvies burst in the apartment in Kisialiou
Street in Minsk, where Viasna's office was situated. They held an
examination with elements of search at 6-10 p.m. As a result they confiscated
two computers, two printers, a scanner, a Xerox machine, a modem and all copies
of the Right to Freedom bulletin in three languages.

On 12 November 1999 the Tsentralny District Court summonsed Ales Bialiatski to
present charges under Article 172, point 2, "Illegal manufacture and
distribution of printed materials”. At the trial, Ales Bialiatski managed to
prove that the confiscation report, drawn up at the 4 October search at the
office of Viasna, lacked information
about the quantity of the confiscated bulletins and had been drawn up not at
during the search, but at the Tsentralny District Police Department of Minsk.

At about 4 p.m. on 8 November 1999 about
Ales Bialiatski came to the Tsentralny District Police Department of Minsk to
take back him computer, which had been confiscated together with other
equipment during the 4 October search. Bialiatski was detained and taken to the
Savetski District Police Department. The duty policeman explained it by saying
that he was one of the organizers of the March of Freedom rally held on
17 October and was charged under Article 167, part 2 of the Code of
Administrative Offenses, “Organization of an unauthorized mass action”. Having
spent more than three hours at the Savetski DPD, Ales Bialiatski was taken to
the detention center.

On 26 November 1999 the Tsentralny District Court of Minsk considered the
administrative case which was initiated by the Tsentralny District Procuracy of
Minsk. Ales Bialiatski, who was also chief editor of the Right to Freedom bulletin,
was found guilty of violating Article 172.1, part 8 of the Code of
Administrative Offences, “unlawful manufacture and distribution of a mass
media) and was punished by a fine of 10 minimum wages.

On 10 December 1999 Mr.
Ales Bialiatski was sentenced to 15 days of arrest for participating in an
unsanctioned rally dedicated to the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights.

On 18 August 2000 the Human Rights Centre “Viasna”was issued with a
warning, which pointed at defects in the organization blank and seal (quotation
marks were missing, and the word center started from a capital letter in the
seal).

On 28 September 2000 Ales Bialiatski was fined 2 minimum wages.

On 26 October 2000 the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus issued the second written
warning to the Council of the Public Association Human Rights Center “Viasna”. The Ministry of Justice
found that the Human Rights
Center in its bulletin Right
to Freedom used a name that didn't correspond to the one that was used in
the registration certificate (the words public association were missing).

At 12 a.m.
on 10 December 2000 there was an attempt to detain Ales
Bialiatski.

On 27 December 2000 the Public
Association Human
Rights Center
“Viasna”received a
repeated warning from the Ministry of Justice. PA HRC “Viasna”stated that an appropriate reaction to the
warning of 26 October had been filed to the Ministry of Justice in the due
terms, but couldn't explain why it hadn't been received by the ministry.

On 2 April 2001 the Tsentralny District Court of Minsk
sentenced Chairman of the Human Rights Center Viasna Ales Bialiatski to
10 days of arrest. Bialiatski had been detained on 25 March after the end of
the action dedicated to Freedom Day, near the Church of Mary Magdalene,
and had spent the night in the detention center in Akrestsin Street. On 26 March his case
was tried by Judge Tatsiana Pauliuchuk. Bialiatski was charged under Article
167.1 part 2 of the Code of Administrative Offences, “organizing an
unauthorized rally”). The trial was postponed to 2 April.

On 27 and 28 August 2001 the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus issued two warning to the public
association Human Rights Center “Viasna”.
The ministry also spread a press release
which stated that the question of the liquidation of the organization was being
considered. The ministry accused the organization of publishing a special issue
of the bulletin with the excess of the maximally allowed circulation, 299
copies, and the failure to present to the ministry the lists of the observers
who had been nominated by the Public Association Human Rights Center “Viasna”, by which the requirements of special instructions on record keeping
were allegedly violated.

On 1 September 2001 Ales Bialiatski, Chair of the
Human Rights Center “Viasna”,
was detained for identification. He was kept at the Savetski District Police
Department of Minsk till 7 p.m. and then was released.

The website of the PA Human Rights Center “Viasna”was blocked for 3 days starting from 28 March 2002. Before this, the complete text of the speech by
lawyer Siarhei Tsurko concernign the case of
Valery Ihnatovich, former officer of the
special police unit Almaz, and other accused in the kidnapping of ORT cameraman Dzmitry Zavadski.

On 13 April 2002 Ales Bialiatski, Chair of the PA Human
Rights Center “Viasna”, and
Siarhei Zaleuski, its member, were detained on the way to Kastsiukovichy, where
they intended to visit the local Viasna activists. Policemen found some
copies of the Right to Freedom in the car and kept the detainees at the
police department for about an hour.

In July 2003 the Ministry
of Justice started the fifth audit of the Public Association Human Rights Center
“Viasna”. The four preceding audits concerned the Brest,
Homel, Minsk
and Vitsebsk regional branches. These audits started immediately after the end
of the election of the local councils.

On 2 September 2003 the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus
lodged a lawsuit for the liquidation of the Public Association Human Rights
Center “Viasna” referring violations which could by no means be considered as
sufficient for the liquidation.

The trial concerning the liquidation of the Public Association Human Rights
Center “Viasna” was to have started at the Supreme Court on 21 October 2003. However,
police officers arrived at court at about 10 a.m., during the registration of those who
intended to take part in the trial, and stated that they had received
information about mining of the court building. The trial was postponed to the
following day, 22 October.

On 28 October the Supreme Court of Belarus ruled to liquidate the Human Rights
Center “Viasna”. The reason for the liquidation was the warning that had been
issued to it by the Ministry of Justice for violation of the electoral
legislation during the presidential election of 2001. Ales Bialiatski, Aliaksei
Kolchyn, Uladzimir Labkovich, Mikola Lemianouski, Zmitser Salauyou, Valiantsin Stefanovich, Uladzimir
Vialichkin and Aleh Zhlutka sat down on the floor in protest against the unfair
verdict, chanting “Shame!”. The action of protest lasted till 5.30 p.m. When
darkness fell, policemen twisted the arms of the action participants, led them
out through the back door and guarded them to the Leninski District Police Department
of Minsk. There they were given charges under Article 166 of the Code of Administrative
Offences, "disobedience to the lawful demands of the police”. They were
issued with writs for 29 October and were released at about 9 p.m.

On 25 March 2004 Ales Bialiatski, Chair of the Human Rights Center Viasna, and Valiantsin Stefanovich, its
lawyer, were detained and beaten on Svaboda Square (Valiantsin was detained
while trying to help Ales Bialiatski).

On 29 March 2004 Ales Bialiatski was summonsed to the national procuracy for a “talk”
with prosecutor Novikau, who dealt with questions of activities of civil
organizations, political parties, religious organizations and mass media. The prosecutor
asked several questions concerning Bialiatski’s activism in NGOs – which organizations
he belonged to and whether he had any relation to the Assembly of Democratic
NGOs and its magazine.

On 13 April 2004 the Human
Rights Center
Viasna filed a
complaint with the UN Human Rights Committee on
behalf its Chair, Ales Bialiatski, and 9 more members. It's been more
than six months from the date tag, a judge of the Supreme Court of Belarus
Valentin Kulik made a decision to dissolve the organization. The decision of
the October 28, 2003, entered into force immediately after its announcement in
court.

On 22 December 2004 the officers of the Tsentralny
District Police Department of Minsk detained more than 60 people who were
heading for the Ukraine
in order to take part in the monitoring of the presidential election. Among the
detainees there were Ales Bialiatski and other members of Viasna. All of them were released in several hours, right after the
departure of their train.

On 17 April 2005 the Savetski District Procuracy issued a warning to ales
Bialiatski under Article 400 of the Criminal Code of the Republic
of Belarus, “knowingly false
denunciation”, for his commentary to the website www.charter97.org cocnerning the violent
dispersal of the peaceful rally held on 25 March in Minsk. Similar warning were issued to Liudmila
Hraznova and Uladzimir Labkovich.

On 10 December 2005, on the anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights riot police beat and detained human rights
defenders Ales Bialiatski and Valiantsin Stefanovich.

On 10 December 2006 participants of an action of
solidarity with political prisoner Aliaksandr Kazulin, including Ales
Bialiatski and Valiantsin Stefanovich, were detained and taken to the
Tsentralny District Police Department of Minsk.

On 23 August 2007 the
Ministry of Justice refused to register the civil human rights association Viasna.
The organization founders addressed the Ministry of Justice throughout
the time of verification of documents, proposing to cooperate on the correction
of the possible defects in the filed documents. However, the ministry blankly
refused from such proposals, which clearly witnessed that its aim was not to
verify the documents objectively, but to find a pretext for a registration
denial.

On 26 October 2007 the Supreme Court of Belarus
turned down the appeal of human rights activists against the decision of the
Ministry of Justice to refuse the state registration of the PHRA Viasna.

In March 2008, human rights defenders Ales Bialiatski,
Uladzimir Khilmanovich, Uladzimir Labkovich, Tatsiana Raviaka, Viktar Sazonau
and Valiantsin Stefanovich were put on a special list of the border guard.
After this their personal belongings were searched each time they crossed the
border, and in some cases Acts of customs examination were drawn up.

On 10 December 2008 members of the HRC Viasna Ales Bialiatski, Uladzimir
Labkovich, Aleh Matskevich, Maryna Statkevich, Valiantsin Stefanovich, Siarhei
Sys and Iryna Toustsik were detained in Nezalezhnasts Avenue with the use of
physical violence for the distribution of copies of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They were taken to the Tsentralny
District Police Department of Minsk, and were released in two hours.

On 26 February 2009 the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus refused to register the public
association Nasha Viasna.

On 22 April 2009 the Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus turned down the appeal of the
founders of the civil human rights association Nasha Viasna against the
registration denial issued by the Ministry of Justice on 26 February.

On 25 May 2009 the Ministry
of Justice decided refused to register PHRA Nasha Viasna again.

On 12 August 2009 the Supreme Court of Belarus turned down the appeal of the
CHRCA Nasha Viasna, against its non-registration by the Ministry of
Justice. Thus, the third attempt to legalize the organization brought no
results.

On 24 March 2010 human rights defenders Ales Bialiatski, Valiantsin Stefanovich
and Iryna Toustsik were arrested by riot police outside
the presidential administration with a banner "No to the death
penalty,", by means of which they expressed their protest against the
violation by Belarus of its international obligations by the execution of death
convicts Vasil Yuzepchuk and Andrei Zhuk. Human
rights activists were taken to police department № 1 of the Leninski District
of Minsk, where they were given formal charges. They were taken to the
delinquents' isolation center in Akrestsin
Street for the night before the trial, after which
they were punished with a fine of 0.5 base
amounts.

In the morning of 20 December police officers in plain
clothes took all computers and other equipment from the office of the HRC Viasna.
Human rights defenders Vital Charniauski, Uladzimir Labkovich, Anastasiya
Loika, Uladzimir Mikalayeu, Andrei Paluda, Dzmitry Salauyou, Kanstantsin Staradubets, Valiantsin
Stefanovich and Siarhei Sys were detained and taken to the Pershamaiski
District Police Department. At about 6 a.m. all 10 detainees were released without
getting any charges.

January 17, 2011 in the office of the Human Rights Centre
"Vesna", as well as apartments and villas human rights activists Ales
Belyatsky were searched. KGB officers have shown a decree signed by the
prosecutor of Minsk.
Investigative actions were carried out in a
criminal case on developments in the area on December 19.

On 16 February, Ales Bialiatski, Chair of the Human Rights Center Viasna, vice-President of
the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), was issued with an
official warning about violating the law, signed by Deputy Prosecutor General
of the Republic
of Belarus, M. Kuklis.
The warning stated that A.Bialiatski's actions
on behalf of the Human Rights Center Viasna, which didn't pass the state
registration, contradicted the laws of the Republic of Belarus.
The human rights activist was formally warned that he could be legally punished
for the continuation of such actions.

On 4 August 2011 Ales Bialiatski was detained for three
days on suspicion of committing a criminal offense. The office of the HRC Viasna,
his apartment and summer cottage were searched. Ales Bialiatski was taken for
questioning to the Financial Investigation Department. The detention term was
subsequently extended.

On 12 August 2011 Ales Bialiatski, Chair of the HRC Viasna,
vice-President of the FIDH, received formal charges within the framework of
the criminal case brought under Part 2 of Art. 243 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus, "withholding of income in
a large scale".

On 23 August 2011 human rights activists Alesna
Laptsionak, Aleh Matskevich, Dzmitry Salauyou, Maryna Statkevich and some civil
activists were detained on Kastrychnitskaya
Square in Minsk
for holding an informational action in support of Ales Bialiatski, but were
released after giving explanations.